This August is your chance to get the last of our classic t-shirts! We’re making room on our shelves for new designs by offering great deals to supporters. From August 1 to August 30, a $10 donation will earn you any of our classic t-shirt designs including:

Donate $25 for a CBLDF Featured Premium Tee and we’ll send you a surprise bonus shirt for free! While you’re browsing our Rewards Zone, make sure to check out our newest apparel — the CBLDF Coat of Arms T-Shirt, designed by Brian Wood! From the creator of DMZ and Demo now comes new official CBLDF branded merchandise, including the matching Coat of Arms Embroidered Patch.

Remember that all proceeds directly support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s mission to protect free speech, which is just one more reason you’ll feel cool sporting our classic tees this Summer!

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/cool-down-in-hot-weather-with-the-cbldf-t-shirt-blowout-this-august/feed/0Using Graphic Novels in Education: The Plain Janeshttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/using-graphic-novels-in-education-the-plain-janes/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/using-graphic-novels-in-education-the-plain-janes/#commentsFri, 31 Jul 2015 18:06:43 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23261Welcome to Using Graphic Novels in Education, an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of graphic novels and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine graphic novels, including those that have been targeted by censors, and provide teaching and discussion suggestions for the use of such books in classrooms.

The Plain Janes is a graphic novel by written Cecil Castellucci and illustrated by Jim Rugg. It’s about Jane, who after barely surviving a terror attack in Metro City, must readjust to a “safer” life in suburbia. There, Jane decides that instead of sitting with the cool kids (where she used to belong in her previous school), she’d prefer a more interesting group of friends. She finds herself at a table with three other girls named Jane (or Jayne), and encourages them to form an all-girl gang: the P.L.A.I.N. Janes, or People Loving Art in Neighborhoods. This group incorporates Jane the athlete, Jane the artist, Jane the theater geek, and Jayne the science nerd. Through their “sabotage artistique,” Main Jane hopes they can save the disaster that is high school while showing her mom that the world’s not that scary a place.

In this relatively short 144-page graphic novel, Castellucci and Rugg tackle some big issues: surviving a terror attack, uprooting from a big city to suburbia, going through a complete make-over, finding one’s place and passions, and contemplating the meaning of life, art, and happiness. They do this through their nuanced characters, the use and layers of art, and the interspersing of quotes from Gandhi, Thoreau, and others.

SUMMARY

The book opens with a blast (literally) and wonderful imagery. Jane, on her way to a math test is knocked down by a horrific explosion. While Castellucci and Rugg keep the details vague, we are led to believe this was a bomb. After recovering from the blast, Jane gathers her bearings noting there was “so much noise. And right there, right among the madness, right in the pavement — – was this tiny dandelion… I knew if that dandelion could survive — so could I.”

As Jane survives the terror attack, she also saves the life of John Doe, a man she finds unconscious on the street next to her. At the bomb scene, she finds and takes John Doe’s sketchbook (which has “Art Saves” on the cover). After she moves, she writes to him sharing her innermost thoughts and conflicts as she wrestles with her new life. It is from this sketchbook that Jane gets the idea of creating and leaving public displays of “art” throughout Kent Waters.

Jane, while shaken, reacts differently to the bomb than her parents. While Jane is a bit more cautious, her mom is outright spooked. Jane’s mom and dad decide it’s safer for them all in the suburbs, so they move to Kent Waters, about a day’s drive from Metro City. Before moving, Jane cuts her long blond hair and dyes it dark. With sketchbook in hand, Jane visits John Doe once more before leaving. While he’s still unconscious, she takes his book with her, telling him she’ll add to it and write to him.

As she enters suburban Buzz Aldrin High for the first time, Jane tells herself, “Here we go. Nothing worse than starting the school year six weeks late. Remember, it’s just four years…” To make matters worse, her mom keeps texting to check up on her, and then at lunch, while she’s invited by Cindy to sit at the cool kids’ table, Jane realizes, “It would be so easy to sit with her. I’d be made… Once upon a time I might have been tempted. Not anymore. I want something different. Even if it means going it alone.” Instead, she finds a table of Janes. While Jane (from now on referred to as Main Jane) is thrilled to be with them, the others are reluctant to accept her. Main Jane has to show them she means well. She has to earn their friendship, and she needs to find a way to make them a cohesive group.

While writing to John Doe and looking at his sketchbook, Jane gets the idea of creating and leaving public displays of art throughout Kent Waters. She figures not only is this a way to unite the diverse interests of the Janes, but it’s a way to make everyone smile a bit more and a way to make her frightening dark life a bit brighter as well.

Inviting each Jane/Jayne to contribute their own skills, they agree to create P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art in Neighborhoods) Janes, a group that creates art out of the commonplace to inspire their community at large. Their first “sabotage artistique” is to create pyramids in the lot where a strip mall is set to go up. From there they build planet constellations, make stuffed animal dolls in front of the animal shelter with “Adopt a Pet” to help support the center, make bubbles in the town fountain, and gift wrap a statue (for starters).

While most of the Kent Water population admires the art, there are some who find them more “art attacks” than “art that saves.” The police, believing the attacks are high school student pranks and impose a curfew in the hopes of curtailing the attacks. No one likes that. So the gay kid, the cool kid, and eventually most of the Buzz Aldrin High students unite to support the glimpses of humor and color the art attacks bring.

One of the many things that make this story work is how Castellucci and Rugg introduce the Janes in distinct stereotypes (Brain Jayne, Main Jane, Theater Jane, and Sporty Jane), allowing them to grow out of their molds as the story unfolds and they become a team. Castellucci’s use of metaphor and her deep life questions are matched with Rugg’s detailed black and white drawings. Furthermore, the characters’ stories and stereotypes are balanced by real-life images of the girls. Some are cuter than others, thinner or heavier than others. They look and sound real and relatable. Furthermore, the concept of black and white art parallels the rigid thinking of the adults in the book as Jane grapples with life, art, and various shades of friendships.

Another reason this book works is because it deals with a post 9/11 culture in which adults appear more fearful, concerned, and suspicious and kids don’t always understand the implications. Castellucci does this with Jane’s dialogue with her friends, with Jane’s introspective letters to John Doe, with Jane’s parents’ overprotective rules, and with compelling, evocative images to support the text.

In short, The Plain Janes is about friendship, survival, the power or art, and finding oneself.

In addition to wonderfully nuanced characters and their ‘normal’ high school challenges, the story relays:

The different ways we all work to survive in a post 9/11 world;

The question of how to deal with fear: do we indulge it or work to overcome it;

The question of whether art’s function is to sooth, reflect, and/or unsettle;

The power of friendship, especially when things get tough;

The power of persistence and cooperation with others to achieve your goals;

Popularity does not insure happiness; and

The difficulties of being uprooted and finding oneself and one’s place in a new environment.

Throughout the book, Jane communicates with John Doe, whom she’s never met and who is unconscious throughout most of the story. Discuss why Jane feels so attached to him. Discuss why she takes his sketchbook. Finally, you may want to discuss how Castellucci uses this character to help define Jane and her issues.

Discuss ways one can be “different” from others and the importance of “fitting in.” Why does Main Jane NOT want to sit with the cool kids, preferring to sit with the Janes?

On pages 6-7, Jane tells us that her family as moved to Kent Waters, “Suburbia. As though anywhere is really safe.” Have students define what “safe” means to them, and the whether there are “safe places.”

Critical Reading and Making Inferences

After the bomb, Jane and her parents (particularly her Mom) handle stress and fear very differently. Compare and contrast (bringing in text to support conclusions) how Jane’s reactions are different from her Mom’s. You may also want students to compare and contrast Jane’s reaction to stress with their own reactions to the stresses in their lives.

Research and discuss post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Have students evaluate whom it affects and how it can be treated.

Discuss and/or debate whether the sabotage art is a crime or not. Make sure students bring in text and/or primary sources to support their opinions.

Cindy gives Jane all sorts of advice about surviving high school; for example, page 70, “If you keep sitting with rejects, it’ll rub off on you.” Have students collect Cindy’s advice and add their own. Students may also want to discuss why Jane doesn’t want to follow it and why she thinks the P.L.A.I.N. Janes are so much cooler.

This book is all about navigating socially in high school after moving from Metro City to a smaller suburban community after a bomb exploded. Research and discuss different ways people have been known to react after surviving traumatic experiences.

On page 58, Castellucci mentions the Case of the Meowing Nuns. Research and debate the circumstances of this case of mass hysteria (see link below).

On page 88, Theatre Jane texts the group, “Gandhi said, ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, the you win.’” Research the context in which this was said and discuss how it relates to what the Janes are doing here.

Language, Literature, and Language Usage

Throughout the book, Castellucci uses imagery to relay what Jane’s thinking and how she’s adjusting to her new life. Have students search and reflect on her uses of language and imagery.

Discuss the use of language and imagery as the book opens and right after the blast as Jane notices a dandelion, and thinks “ If the dandelion could survive so could I.” Discuss Castellucci’s choice of dandelion and the use of verbal and visual imagery.

Define what Jane means when she says on p age10, “It’s hard to be a rebel with a leash.” Discuss her use of language and imagery with this quote.

On page 24, Jane reflects, “Mr. Herrara said that Odysseus was brave and clever, and I said Hell no! He was a coward who had to hide inside a horse.” You may want to use this as bridge to introducing Homer’s Odyssey and/or discuss Castellucci’s use of this reference here.

Read the Thoreau quote on page 54 in its original context: “What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on…” (see link below). Analyze and discuss Thoreau’s intent after reading the quote from his letter to his fried Harrison Blake. Discuss how it is used here versus how it was used in the original.

On Page 71, Officer Sanchez meets in front of the Buzz Aldrin High School and regarding the “sabotage artistique’” says, “We think they are kids. Kids like you. Only these kids don’t love their neighborhood. They deface and they call it art. Art is in a museum. Not on the streets.” With your class:

Discuss what art is and come up with a class definition.

Discuss and define street art. Split the class up and debate if street art and “sabotage artistique” are true art or not.

On page 78, Jane notes, “The truth is, no matter how normal I try to be, I still feel like a shadow.” Have students create and share their own stories of feeling different and/or their stories of trying to fit in. Compare and contrast how the stories are told/ written, and chart the words used to relate their challenges and their feelings.

Cultural Diversity, Civic Responsibilities, and Social Issues

Research, discuss and/or debate the argument of using community space for a mall versus using that space for art.

On page 74, Jane writes to John, “Why is the world so full of hate?” Have students analyze and research different ways our country and communities deal with hate and discrimination. How are these reactions similar or different to other community/country reactions to hate and discrimination?

Discuss how different cultures have dealt with hate. You may want to compare and contrast Dr. Martin Luther King’s peaceful protests with Gandhi’s. You may also want students to evaluate and discuss the Gandhi quote Castellucci uses on page 85, “First they ignore your, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win.”

Define stereotypes your students come across in their lives. Discuss the pros and cons of using stereotypes and why they persist. For example, the cool kids’ table versus the Janes table.

Content-Area Lessons:

Math/History: On page 36, Brain Jane computes how to build pyramids. Discuss the math, engineering, and history of pyramid building.

Language Arts/Philosophy: Discuss the quote on pate 134, “Tell me Miroslaw. If I do something beautiful and no one else sees it, is it still worth doing?”

Modes of Storytelling and Visual Literacy

In graphic novels, images are used to relay messages with and without accompanying text, adding additional dimension to the story. Compare, contrast, and discuss with students how images can be used to relay complex messages. For example:

Discuss and evaluate Rugg’s use of black and white ink throughout the book. Evaluate how it changes to relate different emotions, events, and perspectives.

Discuss and evaluate how Castellucci and Rugg depict the bomb attack. In particular, you may want to discuss how and why they let the audience infer the attack as opposed to defining and relaying it outright.

Discuss the use of visual and literary metaphor as Jane focuses on, and compares herself to a dandelion (page 3) after the bomb. Discuss the imagery and intent of Jane noting, “I knew that if that dandelion could survive… so could I.”

Suggested Prose and Graphic Novel Pairings

For greater discussion on literary style and/or content here are some prose novels and poetry you may want to read with The Silence of Our Friends

Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg — the sequel to The Plain Janes.

Boy Proof and The Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci. Compare and contrast Castellucci’s stories, the language, and the use of art.

14 Cows in America by Carmen Agra Deedy — discuss how the Massai people in Kenya reacted to the story of 9/11 by sending a gift of 14 cows to the United States.

With Their Eyes edited by Annie Thoms — relates how ten students from Stuyvesant High School (located near Ground Zero) interviewed community members and created a series of poems and monologues, sharing reactions to the terror attacks.

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher — about how a family deals with the death of their sister/daughter who is killed in a terrorist attack in London.

The Power of Art by Simon Schama — a nonfiction book that through vivid storytelling, explores eight classic pieces of art by Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko, telling us about the artists and the spirit of the times they lived through, shifting our awareness of art.

Ways of Seeing by John Berger — based on the BBC television series, Berger helps us “see” art and look at pictures in very different ways.

Common Core State Standards:

The Plain Janes is full of advanced vocabulary, wonderful wordplay, inferences, nuanced characters, and humor. It can be effectively used with middle and high school students. It promotes critical thinking and its graphic novel format provides verbal and visual story telling that addresses multi-modal teaching, and meets Common Core State Standards. As it can be used for a range of ages and grade levels, we discuss below how it meets various Common Core Anchor standards.

Knowledge of Language: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials; demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning; acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking and listening at the college and career readiness level.

Key ideas and details: Reading closely to determine what the texts says explicitly and making logical inferences from it; citing specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text; determining central ideas or themes and analyzing their development; summarizing the key supporting details and ideas; analyzing how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of the text.

Craft and structure: Interpreting words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings and analyzing how specific word choices shape meaning or tone; analyzing the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole; Assessing how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Integration of knowledge and ideas: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually…as well as in words; delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence; analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take

Comprehension and collaboration: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively; integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively and orally; evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Meryl Jaffe, PhD teaches visual literacy and critical reading at Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Online Division and is the author of Raising a Reader! and Using Content-Area Graphic Texts for Learning. She used to encourage the “classics” to the exclusion comics, but with her kids’ intervention, Meryl has become an avid graphic novel fan. She now incorporates them in her work, believing that the educational process must reflect the imagination and intellectual flexibility it hopes to nurture. In this monthly feature, Meryl and CBLDF hope to empower educators and encourage an ongoing dialogue promoting kids’ right to read while utilizing the rich educational opportunities graphic novels have to offer. Please continue the dialogue with your own comments, teaching, reading, or discussion ideas at meryl.jaffe@cbldf.org and please visit Dr. Jaffe at http://www.departingthe text.blogspot.com.

We need your help to keep fighting for the right to read! Help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by visiting the Rewards Zone, making a donation, or becoming a member of CBLDF!

All images (c) Cecil Castellucci and illustrated by Jim Rugg.

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/using-graphic-novels-in-education-the-plain-janes/feed/0CBLDF Joins Coalition Defending Children’s Books in Floridahttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/cbldf-joins-coalition-defending-childrens-books-in-florida/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/cbldf-joins-coalition-defending-childrens-books-in-florida/#commentsThu, 30 Jul 2015 21:33:38 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23254Today, CBLDF joined a Kids’ Right to Read-led coalition to defend two children’s books being challenged in Duval County, Florida, over concerns that the books promote Islam and are critical of the US’s role in the Middle East.

CBLDF joins coalition efforts like these to protect the freedom to read comics. Censorship manifests in many ways, and the unique visual nature of comics makes them more prone to censorship than other types of books. Taking an active stand against all instances of censorship curbs precedent that could adversely affect the rights upon which comics readers depend.

The children’s books in question are The Librarian of Basra and Nasreen’s Secret School, both of which take place in the Middle East and explore issues of free speech and access to information in the region. The first centers on a young woman protecting a library in Iraq during war and is based on a true story. The second focuses on a young girl in Afghanistan, who attends a secret school in order to obtain an education.

Although these books offer young readers a different perspective on oppression and censorship, some parents in the community are concerned that the books are encouraging children to engage with the materials in a religious manner — specifically that the books will encourage children to read the Koran and pray to Mohammad. They have demanded that the books be removed from the third grade curriculum in the district. Some parents started a petition in protest, which was fueled by a viral online campaign. Mary Reilly, a local citizen, sent the following note to a member of the school board:

I have been told that elementary students in the upcoming 2015 -2016 school year will be required to read 2 books, promoting prayer to someone other than God. Nasreen’s Secret School & The Librarian of Basra. You can petition these books by going to DuvalSchools.org, Depts, Consolidated Services, Instructional Material, parent petition. I urge you to do this. If we cannot promote praying to God and Jesus Christ in our public schools, how can we promote reading the Koran and praying to Muhammad?

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has so far defended the books, saying of Librarian that “The book being set in war time leads children to think about freedom that should not be suppressed during war time: freedom of speech, access to information.” The complaints are misguided, as KRRP points out in their letter:

Arguments that the books promote Islam are misguided: learning about life in an Islamic culture is no more promoting Islam than learning about a Christian character is promoting Christianity. Indeed, learning about different cultures — and different faiths – is a core part of a comprehensive education.

Neither book is religious — in fact, one of the books says nothing about religion at all — they are set in an area of the world dominated by a religion other than what the complainants practice. Further, the books examine ways in which people overcome cultural oppression and censorship, some of which is fueled by religion in the region. Part of the irony in evaluating the challenges is that the First Amendment not only protects freedom of speech, but also freedom of religion, including Islam.

The school has allowed parents to opt their children out of reading the books, and banning them would not only violate the First Amendment, but also impact other parents’ ability to make decisions about what their own children read. The school board is meeting next week to discuss the issue further, and as KRRP writes, our hope is that board will agree that “Decisions about instructional materials should be based on sound educational grounds, not on some individuals’ agreement or disagreement with the message or content of a particular book.”

You can read the entirety of the KRRP letter below. CBLDF joined American Booksellers for Free Expression, Association of American Publishers, National Council of Teachers of English, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and PEN American Center’s Children’s and Young Adult Book Committee in signing the letter.

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/cbldf-joins-coalition-defending-childrens-books-in-florida/feed/0British Teens Barred from Diary of a Teenage Girl Filmhttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/british-teens-barred-from-diary-of-a-teenage-girl-film/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/british-teens-barred-from-diary-of-a-teenage-girl-film/#commentsThu, 30 Jul 2015 18:31:01 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23249Next week, a critically praised film adaptation of Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel The Diary of a Teenage Girl will land in U.S. cinemas with an R rating for “strong sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity, drug use, language and drinking-all involving teens.” But across the pond, teens the same age as 15-year-old protagonist Minnie will be legally barred from seeing the movie in theaters thanks to an 18+ rating assigned by the British Board of Film Classification.

To be sure, Gloeckner’s story–which she has acknowledged to be at least semi-autobiographical–does not shy away from taboo subject matter as it centers on Minnie’s sexual relationship with her mother’s 35-year-old boyfriend. But director Marielle Heller points out that other films focusing on sexual awakenings of teen boys rather than girls have received the more permissive 15+ rating. Like the MPAA in the U.S., the BBFC is a non-governmental industry-funded organization, but cinemas wishing to disregard its ratings must seek permission from local authorities.

Heller and representatives from production company Vertigo Releasing have claimed that the 18 rating was imposed by an all-male classification board, but BBFC says that is not the case. In a statement they added that “the sex scenes and references are too numerous and sustained for a 15 classification to have been defensible.” The official rationale for the rating says the movie contains “strong sex scenes [that] include mechanical thrusting, breast and buttock nudity, and implied oral sex.” However, the only frontal nudity in the film is in a non-sexual context, which according to the BBFC’s own guidelines should not contribute to nudging the rating up from 15 to 18.

After Vertigo and Heller’s appeal of the rating was denied, the production company released a statement:

We are massively disappointed with this final ruling. The film explores female sexuality with boldness and honesty in an un-exploitative manner. In an age where young women are still continually being sexualized and objectified we feel The Diary of a Teenage Girl sends a very positive, reassuring message to young girls about female sexuality and body image.

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/british-teens-barred-from-diary-of-a-teenage-girl-film/feed/0Charleston Principal Removes Some Girls Are from Summer Reading Listhttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/charleston-principal-removes-some-girls-are-from-summer-reading-list/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/charleston-principal-removes-some-girls-are-from-summer-reading-list/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 21:20:37 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23246Based on a complaint from one parent, the principal of West Ashley High School in Charleston, South Carolina has removed Courtney Summers’ novel Some Girls Are as an option on a summer reading list for freshman Honors English. Although Charleston County School District’s challenge policy says that the school board should make the final decision “based upon careful examination and study of the challenged material,” WAHS principal Lee Runyon said he pulled the book this week because “we felt like we needed to try to accommodate the parent’s concerns, which had some validity, and make a common-sense decision.”

Summers’ book is about a high school senior who is ostracized and bullied by her former friends after she reports an attempted rape by a popular boy. Initially, incoming Honors English I students could choose to read either Some Girls Are or Rikers High, about a 17-year-old boy attending high school inside Rikers Island prison while awaiting trial for a minor infraction. In a letter to the editor of the Post and Courier newspaper last week parent Melanie MacDonald said she and her daughter both downloaded Some Girls Are to their Kindles, planning to read it at the same time. Before long, however, MacDonald reported that “my jaw dropped and I was appalled and disgusted that my child (make no mistake that high school kids are still children) had been assigned this as required reading.”

In her letter, MacDonald objected to the book’s depiction of underage alcohol and drug use, sexual assault, a lecherous male teacher, “body shaming about the size of the lead character’s breasts, and then a sexual reference so explicit that I will not reference it here.” In a follow-up article from the Post and Courier yesterday, MacDonald says although she confiscated her daughter’s Kindle, she has finished reading the book herself and “it doesn’t get any better.”

When MacDonald communicated her concerns to school officials last week, the WAHS English Department initially responded by adding a third option to the reading list: the 1943 classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Although MacDonald and her daughter now had two alternatives to Some Girls Are, she then filed a formal challenge to the book, which according to the Post and Courier should have triggered the formation of a review committee to decide whether it could remain on the reading list. But before that could happen Runyon pulled it from the list and, in consultation with English teachers, replaced it with Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak–which explores themes similar to Some Girls Are and is a frequently challenged book itself.

In response to her book’s removal from the list, Summers today posted on Tumblr an impassioned defense of students’ freedom to read:

I have made a career out of writing young adult fiction about difficult topics. It’s my deepest hope teenagers living the harsh realities I write about–because they do live them–will read my books and feel less alone. It’s incredibly powerful to see yourself in a book when you’re struggling. Not only that, but gritty, realistic YA novels offer a safe space for teen readers to process what is happening in the world around them, even if they never directly experience what they’re reading about. This, in turn, creates a space for teens and the adults in their lives to discuss these topics. Fiction also helps us to consider lives outside of our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic toward others.

In the Post and Courier article, Runyon mentioned “timing” as one reason why he did not follow the challenge policy in removing Some Girls Are from the reading list. This may be a hint that the book fell prey to a phenomenon that was positively epidemic last year, when several school districts across the country apparently failed to follow their challenge policies simply due to the logistical issues involved with forming a review committee during the summer months. Obviously all books should receive due process regardless of when they’re assigned, and we hope CCSD officials and the school board will reconsider Runyon’s decision.

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/charleston-principal-removes-some-girls-are-from-summer-reading-list/feed/0Salman Rushdie: The World Has “Learned the Wrong Lessons” from Charlie Hebdohttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/salman-rushdie-the-world-has-learned-the-wrong-lessons-from-charlie-hebdo/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/salman-rushdie-the-world-has-learned-the-wrong-lessons-from-charlie-hebdo/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 14:53:26 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23240In the wake of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, some people continue to ask if free speech went too far. Award-winning author, Salman Rushdie, on the other hand says that the world has “learned the wrong lessons,” and out of fear we continue to stifle free speech.

Last week the editor-in-chief at the Charlie Hebdo, Laurent Sourisseau, announced that the magazine would no longer be focusing on publishing cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. “We have drawn Muhammad to defend the principle that one can draw whatever they want… We’ve done our job. We have defended the right to caricature.” Although some parties have taken this declaration out of context and misinterpreted it as another French “surrender,” the fact is that the staff at Charlie Hebdo felt that they had covered the issue and stood up for free speech, so instead of “obsessing” on cartoons of Mohammed, they would move on to cover other topical issues.

In response to the frenzy brought about by the interpretation that the infamous French satire magazine had given up, Salman Rushdie came forward in an interview of his own with French newspaper L’Express to say that such a mentality demonstrates that what we have learned from the attacks is not to exercise our right to free speech but instead caution and a fear that we might offend. “What no one talks about is the fear,” Rushdie said. “If people weren’t being killed right now, if bombs and Kalashnikovs weren’t speaking today, the debate would be very different. Fear is being disguised as respect.”

Rushdie’s heated comments are not coming from a place as a sheltered author. Since the publication of his book The Satanic Verses in 1998, Rushdie has faced death threats and exile himself, while those who supported him were firebombed or killed. Based on his own experiences, Rushdie observes that events at Charlie Hebdo have left “deep divides” in the real and literary world. He comments that “we are living in the darkest time [he has] ever known,” and he fears for the state of free speech when artists and writers are afraid to make non-violent comment on real social issues based on the chance that someone could be offended.

Other passionate writers have commented on the events and situate themselves on a variety of sides of the argument. Earlier this year Garry Trudeau made a poignant claim that “because one has the right to offend a group does not mean that one must.” And at the PEN America Awards, dozens of authors protested the staff at Charlie Hebdo being awarded the Freedom of Expression Courage Award — an act that had comics creators Neil Gaiman, Art Spiegelman, and Alison Bechdal stepping up to defend the decision.

As Rushdie points out the controversy surrounding the aftermath of the attacks has left the world divided, but as he also notes in a final statement to L’Express, “Why can’t we debate Islam? It is possible to respect individuals, to protect them from intolerance, while being sceptical about their ideas, even criticising them ferociously.”

Contributing Editor Caitlin McCabe is an independent comics scholar who loves a good pre-code horror comic and the opportunity to spread her knowledge of the industry to those looking for a great story!

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/salman-rushdie-the-world-has-learned-the-wrong-lessons-from-charlie-hebdo/feed/0The Tweeks Tackle the Controversy Around This One Summerhttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/the-tweeks-tackle-the-controversy-about-this-one-summer/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/the-tweeks-tackle-the-controversy-about-this-one-summer/#commentsTue, 28 Jul 2015 18:30:18 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23220It’s week 3 of the ComicMix Challenged Challenge and in this episode twin teen geeks Maddy and Anya—the Tweeks—talk about the controversy surrounding Jillian and Mariko Tamaki’s This One Summer.

A multi award-winning book and the first graphic novel to receive a Caldecott Honor, This One Summer has garnered significant critical acclaim since its release last year. Along with earning the prestige of the Caldecott honor, though, the book has also received negative backlash for what some would attempt to classify as “age-inappropriate” content.

When the Caldecott Award and honors were announced, people weren’t expecting This One Summer, a graphic novel geared more towards the older age-range of the criteria spectrum, to be included. In the past ten years, around 80% of the award and honor recipients have been books aimed at readers age 8 and younger. The award can actually cover books suitable for children up to 14 years old. This being said, This One Summer, written for ages 12+, caused some concern among those who ordered the book based on the award and not familiarity with the subject matter or age group. Several communities saw unsuccessful attempts to ban the book.

“The book really shows how kids, and teens especially, how everything around them is changing and how they kind of have to change too,” said the Tweeks. “It’s a really good story.” First and foremost it’s a book about the changing lives of a group of tweens dealing with very really things like teen pregnancy and interpersonal relationships. As the Tweeks, who are both readers within the book’s suggested age-range, point out, the characters are people that they can identify with and in general the realistic nature of the narrative appeals to the situations that they themselves deal with on a daily basis.

“Publishers and authors cannot be blamed for parents who are not in control of what their children read,” noted the Tweeks. “Once again this falls under the category of: parents can control what their family’s reading, not the libraries.” And yet, some continued to attack the book for their own lack of research and ignorance regarding their children’s reading materials — attacks that in the end were futile because of the efforts of CBLDF and librarians and educators who saw the book as a great value to literature and the Caldecott legacy.

“Graphic novels and comics are written for specific interests and ages and sensitivities. This is why there are rating or age-range suggestions.” If a parent isn’t sure about the content of a book or whether it is appropriate for their child, the best thing to do is pick up a copy and give it a try themselves before attempting to ban the book for everyone.

Check out their site and click here for the full schedule of challenged books they will be challenging all summer long, and watch their video discussion about This One Summer below:

And for educators and librarians, below is a quick list of several of the resources that CBLDF provides should you need to defend your students and patrons right to read if this book is challenged in your community:

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/the-tweeks-tackle-the-controversy-about-this-one-summer/feed/0Despite Ban, Manga and Anime Remain Hot Topics on Chinese Social Mediahttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/despite-ban-manga-and-anime-remain-hot-topics-on-chinese-social-media/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/despite-ban-manga-and-anime-remain-hot-topics-on-chinese-social-media/#commentsTue, 28 Jul 2015 14:04:43 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23222Despite last month’s Chinese ban on dozens of manga and anime series that were said to “encourage juvenile delinquency, glorify violence and include sexual content,” social media users in China are easily circumventing the restrictions by sharing content online. According to a BBC News report, the hashtag #DeathNote is a top trending topic on microblogging site Sina Weibo.

Authorities could easily suppress the hashtag via Weibo’s private censors, just as they often do for sensitive political and societal topics, but anime scholar Jonathan Clements says the government does not expect or intend for entertainment bans to be wholly effective:

Chinese authorities are used to a certain degree of permeability in their various bans and directives. The issue with a lot of Chinese censorship isn’t about a blanket ban that keeps 100% of material out. It’s about making life as difficult as possible for people who actually want it. A ban like this is about restricting casual access.

The ban targeting Japanese media in China has at least as much to do with the historic animosity between the two countries as it does with the content itself. Clements says the illicit consumption of anime and manga by China’s younger generation “encourages a certain amount of underground respect for the Japanese” despite tense relations between the two governments. At the first Shanghai Comic Convention in May, however, there was a pointed lack of Japanese merchandise or characters in booths and cosplay, which were instead dominated by American superhero and sci-fi franchises.

Death Note, both the anime and manga, has long been a favored target of Chinese authorities; in 2007 Beijing’s municipal government labeled it an “illegal terrifying publication” and banned it from distribution at newsstands in the city. But the series is also no stranger to controversy in the U.S., where over the past eight years at least nine students ranging from elementary to high school were disciplined, suspended, expelled, or arrested after “death notes” inspired by the fictional version were found in their possession. Most recently, a seventh grader in Griswold, Connecticut was suspended from school last month and investigated by police.

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/despite-ban-manga-and-anime-remain-hot-topics-on-chinese-social-media/feed/0Index on Censorship Provides Resources to Protect Artists in the UKhttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/index-on-censorship-provides-resources-to-protect-artists-in-the-uk/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/index-on-censorship-provides-resources-to-protect-artists-in-the-uk/#commentsMon, 27 Jul 2015 16:07:26 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23214US citizens are protected by the First Amendment, but in the UK there are several additional laws and practices that are designed to protect free speech but are often misinterpreted, leading to censorship. Whether you’re a British artist or an international artist exhibiting in the UK, these laws can be confusing.

In order to help artists better understand British laws and how they impact artistic expression, Index on Censorship has put together resources that tackle some of the most controversial topics and breakdown the laws that every artist should know. Entitled “Art and the Law,” the information packs cover child protection laws, which are designed to stop child pornography, but include non-photographic images among those which are illegal; counter terrorism laws, which are intended to stop the display of materials the might directly or indirectly encourage terrorism; and public order laws, which are rarely used against artists but may be applied if a piece of art or a performance is found to incite riot, fear of violence, harassment, and other public disorder. In late 2015, Index will have resources regarding obscenity laws and laws pertaining to race and religion.

“The police, prosecutors and courts have a duty to defend free speech,” said Index on Censorship Chief Executive, Jodie Ginsberg. “But, as we have seen with [recent] cases… police will go along with a ‘heckler’s veto’ and advise that artistic productions shut down when threatened with protest.”

Misunderstandings of the laws don’t only come from outside organizations and legal parties. In fact, based on a study entitled Taking the Offensive done by Index last year, they found that many artists themselves are unfamiliar enough with the laws that they will censor themselves as a precaution to avoid legal repercussions. According to Julia Farrington, who initiated and led the “Art and Law” project:

Free expression is crucial to the arts. But we have found that too often, artists and exhibitors are unsure of their rights under the law. Our Art and the Law guides will help them approach controversy with more confidence.

Although the packs pertain directly to UK laws, the information is useful for any artist who may be performing or exhibiting in the UK. A number of American and US-based artists have run afoul of British censors, including Neil Gaiman, Melinda Gebbie, Sue Coe, and many more. In case you’re traveling with your art to the UK, we recommend reviewing CBLDF’s own Customs resources.

Contributing Editor Caitlin McCabe is an independent comics scholar who loves a good pre-code horror comic and the opportunity to spread her knowledge of the industry to those looking for a great story!

]]>http://cbldf.org/2015/07/index-on-censorship-provides-resources-to-protect-artists-in-the-uk/feed/0Increasing Number of Americans Support Banning Bookshttp://cbldf.org/2015/07/increasing-number-of-americans-support-banning-books/
http://cbldf.org/2015/07/increasing-number-of-americans-support-banning-books/#commentsFri, 24 Jul 2015 17:15:25 +0000http://cbldf.org/?p=23206An early 2015 poll of more than 2,000 Americans has revealed a disturbing trend: Since 2011, the percentage of Americans who believe that there are books that should be banned has increased from 18% to 28%. Perhaps even more disturbing, only 48% of Americans stated that books should never be banned.

The poll, which was conducted in March 2015 by The Harris Poll, asked 2,244 adults about their views on movies, television, video games, and books. In particular, the poll asked respondents whether they felt any of these media should ever be banned. Books were the primary target of the respondents who support bans; video games came in second, with 24% of respondents supporting bans. Only 16% of respondents supported bans for movies or television.

The poll also revealed some other trends:

There was a link between education level and the likelihood of supporting the ban of materials: The higher the education level, the less likely the respondent was willing to ban media.

Republicans were almost twice as likely to support banning media than Democrats or Independents.

When asked about the role of libraries and librarians:

71% of respondents thought books needed a rating system.

71% of respondents also expect librarians to act as parents in absentia, preventing children from checking out materials that the respondents consider inappropriate.

Respondents cited the following as reasons books should be kept from children in school libraries:

explicit language (60%)

violence (48%)

witchcraft (44%)

sexual content (43%)

drugs and alcohol (37%)

Religion was also a factor in the urge to ban books in libraries: 33% of respondents would ban the Koran, 29% would ban the Torah, and 13% would ban the Bible.

The survey represents a small portion of the American population, but the results support a trend that CBLDF has noted over the last couple of years: The urge to ban books is increasing. In the first six months of 2015, CBLDF has had to help mitigate nearly twice as many challenges as we had to during the same period last year.

The poll doesn’t speak to why the urge to ban books is on the rise. It’s a complex issue that can be difficult to define. Some people challenge books because it’s a way to exert control over a life they otherwise have little sway over. Other people challenge books because of deeply held religious and political beliefs. Comics are especially vulnerable to challenges because of fundamental misunderstandings about the format and because it’s easy to target a comic over a single image. Unfortunately, these individuals fail to recognize that while it’s absolutely appropriate to make determinations about what they or their own children read, a challenge affects other people. They don’t have the right to take that decision away from others.

Fortunately, most challenges fail. Organizations like CBLDF and other free speech advocates continue to fight on behalf of the right to read, educating the public about their rights, assisting schools and libraries when they need help defending a book, and providing other resources. But the continued challenges and the losses — the bans — mean we need to stay in business. Maybe someday, 0% of respondents will support banning books. Until that happens, we need to continue to fight for the freedom to read!